Facebook Messages is in the process being released by Facebook. It integrates email (must have a Facebook email address), IM and texting in a unified “Inbox” on Facebook. Not everyone has it yet. I have two Facebook accounts, and one of them has it and the other does not.

The new Facebook Messages interface displays the messages you exchange with friends, and it also interweaves your chats, texts and emails (should you choose to create an @facebook.com address). It’s a central place for Facebook users to have an “Inbox” of communication.

Here’s a Facebook Messages Inbox screenshot:

You’ll see in the screenshot above that you have to click the “Messages” folder in order to see the “Other” folder. This is important because Facebook will prioritize messages from your friends, and friends of friends; otherwise, your message will likely appear in an “Other” folder.

Helpful Tips

If you begin to notice a lot of facebook.com email addresses on your lists, it may be a good sign that you should reach this audience through engagement on Facebook in addition to email since your email may be going to the “Other” folder.

Another thing you’ll notice in the screenshot is that Facebook really emphasizes the “sender” with a larger font and bolder color, and minimizes the “subject” underneath the sender in a lighter and smaller font.

Helpful Tips

As a general principle, you should make sure that your email recipients know who you are by having a “from” name that is familiar. While this applies to email marketing in general, it is especially important in Facebook Messages, where the subject line is not emphasized and therefore won’t be a powerful call to action.The subject and first 70 or so characters of the email should have a call to action, as these will be visible before the message is opened in Facebook Messages.

Although you can’t see it in the screenshot, Facebook Messages will group all emails by conversation based on the email address and put the most recent messages in the conversation at the bottom of the thread. This makes it even more difficult for users of Facebook Messages to find your message.

Once you open the message, here’s what you’ll see:

As you can see, Facebook defaults to the text version of the email when users click on the message. In order to see the HTML version, the user has to click the “Expand” link. Once this is done, a window opens with the HTML message visible.

Helpful Tips

HTML email messages will default to their text versions in Facebook. If you are not focused on the text version of your email, you may want to give this version a little bit of extra attention.

In conclusion, Facebook has not completely rolled out Facebook Messages to all of its users, so it is still in the earliest stages of adoption. Facebook Messages also lacks many advanced features that other email providers have long included, such as tagging, folders, etc. It appears to be designed more for short, casual messaging within Facebook rather than as a true email service.

As an email marketer, it is important to determine adoption of facebook.com email addresses and act accordingly. If your subscribers are transitioning to facebook.com email addresses, make sure you follow some of the guidelines suggested above to help you engage this audience. If you still don’t feel that your email marketing is reaching these users the way you would like, try engaging these customers using your social media marketing efforts.

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